Love & Mischief

Chapter 15

Day after day, Annabelle would visit Loki in the dungeons and spend the day with him. They would read for hours on end. Loving the time they spent together.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you. Thor brought Jane to Asgard," Annabelle said.

"He did?" Loki was baffled by this.

"She's sick, and we're not quite sure what's wrong."

"Oh, dear."

"Indeed. The healers are beginning to think it's some sort of dark force. It's entirely possible, but I don't know how she could have come in contact with one."

"I see. How's Thor?"

"Worried about Jane, of course. But other than that, he's fine. He, Sif, and the Warriors Three have been venturing around the Nine Realms, bringing in prisoners and restoring peace."

"So I've heard... Ah, and it looks like there's more... wonderful."

The two looked down the hall to see Fandral and Volstagg escorting some prisoners.

"I guess that's my queue to leave," Annabelle said, disappointedly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, my darling," Loki said and kissed her cheek.

"See you tomorrow," And with that, she went back to their chambers.

"And now, boredom once again..." Loki said to himself and made his way over to his bed. He then picked up a cup and began throwing it above his head and catching it before it fell on him.

All of a sudden, prisoners down the hall began to make a racket, which intrigued the prince.

"Well, I have nothing else to do," he thought. He got up and went over to take a look. He then saw a large creature breaking people out of their cells.

The creature soon passed by Loki. It hesitated, and then kept walking, knowing that Loki was trouble.

"You might want to take the stairs to the left," Loki told it as it walked away, hoping the beast would find his brother.

                                                                                  ~~~

"What's happening?" Annabelle asked as she walked over to Frigga and Jane.

"Annabelle, there you are!" Frigga said, relieved. "Here, come with me."

Frigga led Annabelle and Jane through the palace towards her chambers. The two girls grew anxious about what was happening.

Soon, they found themselves in the parlor outside the Queen's private chamber. "Go inside and hide in the backroom," Frigga instructed and the two did as they were told.

They sat in there for what felt like forever. Thankfully, the room was surrounded by a barrier of magic that was soundproof so they didn't have to worry about being heard.

After a while, they began to grow restless. "How long do you think we'll be in here?" Jane asked.

"I'm not sure," Annabelle replied, "hopefully not too much longer."

A few minutes later, the door opened to show Thor with a somber expression. "Are you alright?" he asked them.

"Yeah, we're ok," Jane said as she hugged him.

"Thor, what's wrong?" Annabelle questioned. She knew him better than most. They grew up together. He was the brother she never had and she, his sister. So for her, he was easy to read. "What happened?"

"Mother..." he began. Annabelle could see that he was almost to the point of tears. "She... she's dead."

"What?" she said in disbelief. This can't be true. Frigga meant so much to her. She was heartbroken.

"What happened?" Jane asked.

"The elves... they... killed her."

"No," Annabelle was devastated. And then it hit her - Loki. Aside from Annabelle, Frigga was his everything. He'll be crushed. "I'm going to the dungeons."

No one tried stopping her. Even if they had, they wouldn't have been able to. They knew she should be the one to tell him. With a flick of her wrist, Annabelle appeared in Loki's cell.

"My love!" Loki said surprised as he walked over to his wife. His happy expression soon changed to a concerned one. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, "Why are you crying?" He took her over to his bed and held her close. He knew something was terribly wrong. She was rarely like this, which made him worry even more.

They lay there for a while as Loki tried comforting his wife. He knew that he should wait until she calmed down to question any further, then she would tell him.

After a while, Annabelle stopped crying. She began to dread what she was about to say. She hated to see him hurting. He's already been through so much in his life and this would just add to the pain.

Eventually, she spoke up. "Darling, something happened," she said, thinking about what she was going to say next.

"Alright..."

"It's... your mother," she began. Loki's expression went from worried to terrified. "She... she's gone." Annabelle began to tear up again.

"What?" he said.

"The dark elves... they killed her."

"How did this happen?" he responded. She could hear the pain in his voice. It was unlike anything she'd ever heard.

"I don't know. She had me and Jane hide in her private chamber, and when Thor found us, he said she was gone."

"No..." he said and began to cry. It pained her to see him like this. She held him close and tried to comfort him as he did her.

They laid there for hours, holding each other. This was by far the toughest thing they've ever had to deal with. This hurt more than anything they've ever felt before. Not only did they lose their mother, but they lost one of the most wonderful people to ever live.

It was getting late and they decided that Annabelle would go back to their chambers and see Loki again in the morning.

The moment she left, anger overtook the prince. He had been very angry in the past but this, this was something else entirely - he was outraged. He tightened his fists and immediately, all his furniture was thrown across the cell. Broken wood littered the floor as he yelled through his rage.

At the moment, every aspect of his life was a mess. All but Annabelle. She was the only thing that kept him grounded. She was the only one that could calm him down. Annabelle was his everything. For it was she who stood by his side all his life. No matter what happened, she was always there - always supporting him. His beloved Queen.

And that's why he couldn't let her see him like this. He was broken. He was at his lowest point. He knew it pained her to see him hurt, so he couldn't let her see him like this, he just couldn't.